Winick Takes Over at 100 Broadway

The Winick Realty Group retail duo of Jeff Winick and Darrell Rubens has been brought on to handle retail leasing for 100 Broadway, a building previously represented by Cushman & Wakefield, The Commercial Observer has learned.

Once the site of a massive Borders bookstore, the sprawling retail space has already had two-thirds of it leased out to the Walgreens-owned Duane Reade (as was first reported by The Commercial Observer). Duane Reade will reportedly be paying $2 million a year for the roughly 22,000 square feet of space at 100 Broadway.

A group of Cushman & Wakefield retail brokers formerly handled leasing for the space, which is owned by Madison Capital.

Now at the helm of 100 Broadway, Mr. Rubens is eager to bring a retailer into the remaining 4,400 square feet of vacant storefront space, possibly an outfitter like American Apparel or Joe Fresh.

There is also a 9,000 square foot lower level space that has never been used for retail purposes before. The group plans on combining both the ground and lower floor space for a big-box tenant, it said in a press release.

With the riff-raf from the Occupy Wall Street protests from nearby Zucotti Park no longer a presence, Mr. Rubens is eager to see the remaining barricades removed.

“I am happy the protesters aren’t in Zuccotti Park anymore, and I would love to see New York City take down the rest of the barricades in Lower Manhattan and make it open,” said Mr. Rubens, 39. “One thing is we don’t have any barricades on our site. It’s more open than ever.”

Mr. Rubens, a 16-year veteran of Winick Realty, is no stranger to the Financial District’s retail scene. He handled the leases for popular fashion stores like Century 21 and TJ Maxx, the latter whom he leased their first downtown store at 14 Wall Street.

He said he spent the past 10 years focusing solely on retail opportunities n the Financial District.

“It wasn’t until after 9/11 when building owners started converting office buildings into residential. I really made [retail] my focus,” he said.

With the new Fulton Street station and the new World Trade Center site both close to opening, he thinks now is a ripe time for retail, especially with the influx of a younger breed of everyday professional.

“Conde Nast is going to be down there, which will be a whole new demographic,” he added.